Proposed marriage
ban may allow some rights for gay couples

Gay and lesbian couples might still enjoy some legal protections under a proposed amendment to the Colorado constitution that bans same-sex marriage, the leader of a group seeking to place the measure on the ballot this fall said Wednesday. Jon Paul, executive director of the newly formed Coloradans for Marriage, said the group is leaning toward a proposal that defines marriage as a union of one man and one woman but does not ban legal recognition of domestic partnerships that offer inheritance rights and other benefits. That final language is expected by the end of the month. In the meantime, another group formed to fight the expected initiative began canvassing Denver neighborhoods this week to tell voters about discrimination that gay and lesbian couples face in areas like property inheritance and job discrimination. "We first believe once voters are aware of some of the discriminatory practices in the legal system, they will begin to understand over the long term the need for legal remedies, whether in form of domestic partnerships or, ultimately, way down the road, gay marriage," said Rick Ridder, a consultant for Coloradans for Fairness and Equality, which was formed in October. The effort will eventually be expanded across the state. State Democrats are also pushing ahead with a proposal to ask voters if they'll support creating a domestic-partnership law. They hope that approach will avoid a divisive debate over marriage and religion, but critics call the proposal "marriage lite." Paul said his group, which he described as a broad coalition that includes religious organizations, won't be focusing on the domestic-partnership proposal. "We're going to focus on our initiative. If our initiative conflicts with that, then so be it," he said. Paul said the group won't identify its members until the final wording of the initiative is reached. Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family is part of the group and has been involved in the discussions, but Jim Pfaff, the group's national representative for family policy, said they are not leading the effort. Pfaff said the conservative Christian ministry has backed marriage amendments of various forms in other states and would back the coalition's final decision. "We're going to do everything we can to communicate through our media, e-mail, radio, and mail to let everyone know what is going on," he said. The antiamendment group is led by Denver businesswoman Patrice Hauptman and has received some donations from Gill Action, the political arm of software millionaire Tim Gill's Gill Foundation, Ridder said. Ridder said the group's board hasn't decided yet whether it will also actively work to support the Democrats' domestic-partnership proposal. (AP)